Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2018: Message from the Skies

July 18, 2017

The programme for Edinburgh’s 25th Hogmanay Festival was announced today at Mansfield Traquair. Plans for the celebrations have been overhauled and a six-hour street party is now at the heart of the 2018 programme, which has been organised by Underbelly, a UK based live entertainment company.

Some highlights of the programme include: the family friendly Bairns Afore, giving families the opportunity to celebrate New Year earlier with their very own ‘midnight’ fireworks moment at 6pm; the new look ceilidh at the foot of Edinburgh Castle; and the stunning Torchlight Procession, which will culminate in a stunning visual moment in Holyrood Park with the #ScotWord project.

For the literature enthusiasts, this year’s celebrations will also let visitors and residents see Edinburgh in a new light with Message from the Skies. Taking you on a literary journey through the city, with a new story written by Scottish writer Val McDermid, words will be projected onto Edinburgh’s key landmarks and buildings.

Val McDermid, bestselling Scottish writer said:

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be involved with such a unique project that will showcase Edinburgh in surprising ways. For a writer, the challenge of trying something new is always exciting and Message from the Skies will be a demanding exercise of imagination and narrative technique. It’s going to be great fun!”

Val will be working with Philip Howard, dramaturg, as well as Edinburgh based projection company Double Take projections to bring her story to life for all to read and experience. Each building and landmark will be its own chapter of the story, bringing words to Edinburgh’s streets once more. An app will allow audiences to hold their devices up to each building to see the stories translated into different languages, and will also read the text to partially-sighted audiences.

Message from the Skies is set to run from New Year’s Day to Burns Night on the 25 January, from dusk (times to be confirmed) until 10pm. The project is commissioned and presented by Edinburgh’s Hogmanay and the Edinburgh International Book Festival, produced by Underbelly and Pearlfisher, in partnership with Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, and funded by Creative Scotland through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals EXPO fund.

Tickets for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2018 are now on sale over on their website.